NEWS: The British publisher teams up with the studio known for 'Let Me In,'
'The Woman in Black' and classic Peter Cushing gothic horrors.
It's welcome back to the house of Hammer. Announced at comic book retailer
conference ComicsPro Friday, Titan Comics will launch a new line of
comic books based on properties from classic horror movie studio Hammer
Films later this year. Hammer, the home of British horror, was founded in 1934 but truly came
to prominence in the 1950s with a string of horror features including The Quatermass Experiment, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Devil Rides Out and 1958's Dracula, the movie which arguably made the careers of both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Throughout the 1950s, '60s and into the '70s, "Hammer Horror" became a
reliable shorthand for a particularly gothic aesthetic filled with
dramatically lit castles, creepy old men with upperclass English accents
and chills that managed to be both over-the-top and surprisingly
effective.
Following the studio's disappearance in 1979 after almost falling into
bankruptcy, Hammer Films returned in 2008 with a string of updated
horror titles including The Woman in Black, The Quiet Ones, The Resident and Let Me In, a remake of the Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In.
Titan's Hammer line, which aptly launches in time for Halloween, will
feature a mix of classic Hammer titles and all-new properties. In a
statement accompanying the announcement, editor David Leach said,
"Hammer is the home of some of the most groundbreaking horror and genre
films in motion picture history. Together, we're going to make some
terrifyingly good comics."
The British-based publisher has built a reputation for its licensed material, with series based on Doctor Who, Heroes Reborn, Assassin's Creed and NBC's The Blacklist in its portfolio. Its next high profile launch starts in May, based on Showtime's Penny Dreadful.
